


Your Arms (They Keep Me Steady)

by MakeTheMoon



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Coming Out, Fluff, Gen, Snowstorms, Sweetness and Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2019-02-12 07:35:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12954429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MakeTheMoon/pseuds/MakeTheMoon
Summary: Rhett and Link get snowed in during a tour stop in December."They’re opening their doors, peeling off their wet coats, when Rhett thinks, shit, I can’t keep it to myself anymore."





	Your Arms (They Keep Me Steady)

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from the song Yours by Ella Henderson, and the whole story is kind of based around that song. I listened to it a lot while writing this over the last couple months, so please feel free to listen to it while you're reading for some atmosphere.

They’re running into the hotel, coats over their heads, slipping on the floors just inside the door, when Rhett thinks, _shit, we’re going to be stuck here._  
  
They’re shivering together on the couch in the lobby, their assistants checking them all in, when Rhett thinks, _shit, I don’t want to do this_ .  
  
They’re opening their doors, peeling off their wet coats, when Rhett thinks, _shit, I can’t keep it to myself anymore._  
  
Rhett flicks on the light just inside and door, squinting into the room, and immediately starts undressing, takes his socks and jeans off and replaces them with warm, dry pajama pants. Just as he’s plucking his shirt from his arms there’s a knock on his door. He grabs an old t-shirt and pulls it on as he’s opening the door and Link walks through, mouth going a mile a minute, and Rhett’s nerves are quieted for a moment.  
  
“It’s insane out there, I mean, actually insane. I want to take a video for the crew, most of them haven’t seen snow like this in years. Fuck, _we_ haven’t seen snow like this in years,” Rhett smiles at his use of _we_ instead of _I_ , and Link continues, “I’m soaked, still. I took off my socks and my feet were wet so when I put on another pair my wet feet got those wet and now I’m uncomfortable again.”  
  
“You gotta do like me - no socks, man,” Rhett sticks out a leg, holding the dresser for balance, and wiggles his toes toward Link’s face. Link smacks his foot away and laughs, slumping onto the pillows on the bed.  
  
Rhett hangs his clothes around the room, notices that the sun is coming up, and when he turns back to the bed Link is trying desperately to get the TV off the menu page.  
  
Link’s wearing his night time glasses, had been for the whole flight, but they don’t fully conceal the dark circles under his eyes. “A-ha,” he says, and then there’s the sound of the elevator music on the TV guide. Rhett didn’t even know there was a TV guide channel anymore.  
  
Link finds Guardians of the Galaxy and settles back against Rhett’s headboard and Rhett gives him 10 minutes before he’s sound asleep.  
  
It’s been a long couple days of travel, delayed due to weather and stuck in airports for longer than either of them can normally handle. Finally getting to a hotel was a miracle, but Rhett was nervous that they might have to cancel this show, too - they had already had to cancel the one the day before because of this same storm. He figures it has to be coming to an end soon, so he busies himself with some work on his laptop and lets Link sleep.  
  
Around 10:00am he wakes Link back up when he gets the text that it looks like the show won’t be able to go ahead - the theatre is closing for the day.  
  
“We should do an Insta story to tell everyone - they’re expecting it now, right?”  
  
Link nods and yawns, “yeah, just let me wake up a bit more.” He runs his hand through his hair and yawns again, stretches his arms up, and shakes his head like a dog before standing and straightening his clothes.  
  
~~~  
  
They both know they look tired in the videos, but it’s hard to hide on a dull day like this, no sun to wash out the dark circles under their eyes. Rhett thinks it’s obvious that he’s worried, his brows knitted together in every video they film. They try to make it interesting, bouncing around the hotel - Rhett’s room, Link’s room, Stevie’s room, the lobby in front of the oversized Christmas tree.  
  
Link gets the idea that he wants to try to get outside and film a small video, just to prove it, to prove to the people who aren’t in Chicago how stormy it really is.  
  
“You can go right ahead, man, I ain’t going out in that again. I’m still warming up from last time.”  
  
It’s closer to lunchtime than breakfast, and Rhett’s getting hungry. As he has the thought, Link’s stomach growls and they agree to get something to eat first.  
  
~~~  
  
Link’s still insisting on going outside, so they head back to Rhett’s room. They’re warm and dry now, just in jeans and t-shirts, and Link jogs to the balcony door to unlock it and pry it open - it’s frozen, but with a few pushes with his shoulder he dislodges the ice and creaks it open.  
  
He looks back at Rhett with wide eyes and a big grin.  
  
“Close it! You’re letting the heat out,” Rhett says, faking a shiver and wrapping his hoodie around his shoulders.  
  
Link closes the door and steps back inside to grab his coat - no, Rhett’s coat. He pulls it on, opens the camera on Rhett’s phone, ducks his head, and steps outside.  
  
Rhett’s gets a blissful moment of quiet, the whirling and whistling of the wind dampened as the door is closed, the only sound the ice hitting against the window. His chest gets tight as he remembers what he’s been meaning to do, meaning to say, and maybe the quiet isn’t quite as blissful as he had thought, Link having his usual effect of keeping Rhett calm and on even ground.  
  
It had been years, really, that he’d been feeling this way, and months that’s he’d known for sure, and weeks since he’d made up his mind to ever even say it out loud.  
  
He’s startled from his thoughts when the door flies open and Link trips back inside, Rhett’s coat pulled tight around his torso, sleeves too long and dangling past his fingertips. His nose is red and his teeth are chattering, and there’s something about how small he looks, how vulnerable he looks - it matches how Rhett feels, and he thinks now is as good a time as any.  
  
He’s still standing dumbly in the middle of the room, so he sits on the foot of the bed, runs his nails up and down his thighs, opens his mouth and is about to take a deep breath when Link beats him to it and says, “Now my feet are wet again. Dammit.”  
  
Rhett’s words catch in his throat, but the moment isn’t ruined, hasn’t passed yet, the courage still clinging to his bones, so he reaches out one long arm and hooks a finger into the sleeve of the coat, lightly tugs.  
  
He’s answered with raised eyebrows and a head tilt, and he can’t help but smile - Link always manages to look like a puppy when he’s curious.  
  
“Sit down, will ya?”  
  
“Aw, I’m soaked, man. I’ll get the bed all wet.”  
  
So Rhett slides down the end of the bed onto the floor with his legs stretched out and reaches up, grips the sleeve again. He feels like a child, but Link looks like one, and he thinks they fit.  
  
Link takes off the coat and wraps himself in a blanket, slowly sitting down next to Rhett. His jeans are stiff with cold so Rhett lets him get comfortable.  
  
When Link is finally sitting next to him, Rhett can see the crows feet around his eyes, the smile lines around his mouth. He can see the faint lines on his forehead, the striking grey stripe in the front of his hair, and the silver speckled throughout the rest. He doesn’t look like a child anymore, and Rhett is hit with a wave of nostalgia - Link’s lines match his own, and it’s a testament to everything they’ve done together. He knew Link when he _was_ a child, and now here they are, still best friends, having the time of their lives, and old enough to have grey hair.  
  
He can feel a prickling in his eyes so he clears his throat and looks forward, chews on the inside of his cheek.  
  
Link taps him on the knee with the back of his hand, urging him on. He’s not looking at Rhett, and Rhett is thankful - he knows that means Link realises he’s serious about something, worried. Instead, he’s looking at where his knuckles are resting against Rhett’s leg.  
  
Rhett didn’t think this far. He’s not sure if he wants to just say it, like ripping off a bandaid, or if he wants to build it up so it doesn’t seem as shocking when he finally says it.  
  
What comes out is, “I’m scared, Link.”  
  
Link hums, taps him with his knuckles again, but doesn’t say anything.  
  
“Not about you, or us, or the tour or anything.” He’s not sure what he’s expecting Link to say, but he’s definitely expecting something, so when he gets nothing he feels his heartbeat thrumming through his body, vibrating his fingers and toes. He’s not sure if that’s good or bad.  
  
He swallows, takes a breath, and another.  
  
He chickens out again, says “you know, I thought we were supposed to be able to read each other’s minds?”  
  
Link snorts and just like that it feels like it’s not as serious, feels like the cloud has passed. He can get Link to laugh right now, and that won’t be different after he says it.  
  
Link turns a little so their knees are overlapping. He’s got his head leaned back onto the foot of the bed but he’s turned to face Rhett, eyes closed.  
  
It’s enough for it to feel like he doesn’t have an audience, no eyes on him. He’s said it to himself a million times in preparation for this, in his head and outloud. Why this is different is beyond him.  
  
Instead of a tap, Link rubs the knuckle of his middle finger back and forth on the outside of Rhett’s thigh, near where their legs are touching.  
  
It feels like Rhett’s pulling a trigger except he’s not sure what the trigger is attached to or what it’s pointed at. When he figures that it’s not pointed at himself or Link, he feels the words bubble up closer to the surface.  
  
Usually Link’s the shaky one, hands trembling at the slightest hint of adrenaline, but Rhett can feel it in his bones that he’s doing it now, and he wrings his hands together in his lap, picks at his fingernails, squeezes his fingers together, and when he glances over Link is still. Completely still, like he’s asleep, and that’s what it takes - Link is being his safety net, his life raft, steady and certain for whatever he could throw at it.  
  
He clears his throat one last time, squeezes his fingers and his eyes, and says, quietly, “I think I’m bi, Link.”  
  
He feels all the air leave his lungs in a split second, and he thought it would be like a weight was lifted but now it feels like he’s got a weight on his chest preventing him from inhaling, like there’s a grip around his chest and if he were claustrophobic it would be a nightmare. As it is, though, it’s just wholly unpleasant.  
  
The weight lifts quickly as Link unwraps himself from his cross-legged position and wraps his arms around Rhett’s shoulders. He’s hugging him sideways and he lays his head on Rhett’s shoulder. Rhett thinks he might bruise from the grip on the opposite arm.  
  
It takes him a moment to realise he’s crying, a little, not sobbing but tearing up. He’s not sure what to say, not sure if he could say it even if he wanted to. He never practiced this part because he never got far enough to imagine exactly how Link would react.  
  
He knew, really, that Link wouldn’t be mad or upset. He was a little afraid that Link would be uncomfortable. He was scared that Link would brush him off, make a joke, pretend it didn’t happen.  
  
He’s relieved, but not surprised, that Link is just being there, hanging off of him.  
  
Link gives him one more squeeze and lifts his head, keeps one arm around his back, and there’s a split second where his lips brush the top of Rhett’s shoulder. It’s not a kiss, but it might as well be with the way the heat tingles in fractals throughout his arm and neck.  
  
Link hums a little, low in his throat like he’s thinking really hard about something, and Rhett tries to subtly wipe his face with the back of his hand.  
  
Link snorts, mumbles a sarcastic, “subtle,” but lifts his hand and wipes at the cheek that’s closest to him with the sleeve of his sweater. He lowers his arms and leans sideways, resting his head back on Rhett’s shoulder, and Rhett pulls his knees up close to his chest.  
  
“You know I love you, right? I know I’ve never really said it, but… you know that, right? I’ve made it obvious?” Link’s voice is so sincere that Rhett actually does a double take. The only other times he’s heard Link sound like this had been when their children were born.  
  
And in a way, it’s like Rhett is reborn - it almost makes sense why Link is speaking softly and sincerely. He wants Rhett to feel loved, supported.  
  
Rhett turns his head and catches Link’s eye, both of them with small smiles, Rhett still apprehensive but Link making up for it in spades with his softness and acceptance.  
  
Link taps him on the leg again and says, “want to watch something? I bet there’s a Christmas movie on.”  
  
Link’s glasses are sliding down his nose, so Rhett reaches out a hand, taps them back up into place, and nods.  
  
Before he’s able to shuffle around and stand, Link throws his arms around him once more, burying his face into Rhett’s neck and squeezing him. Rhett squeezes back and moves to get up but Link keeps him still. He holds on for another moment, fingers curled in the back of Rhett’s shirt, so Rhett lets himself be held.  
  
Link lets go with a rub of Rhett’s back and they make their way up to the pillows against the headboard, snacks and drinks on the bedside tables, and find _Love, Actually_ on TV.  
  
They spend most of the movie talking over it, not about anything in particular. They talk about the tour, the food, the actor’s other movies. Rhett throws potato chips at Link and Link scolds him for messing up the bed, even though it isn’t his to sleep in.  
  
Rhett gets quiet and turns the volume up when The Pointer Sisters’ “Jump” starts playing, Hugh Grant dancing along down the steps. It’s always been his favourite part. He sees Link look at him out of the corner of his eye and then LInk asks, “so, on a scale of one to ten, how hot is Hugh Grant in this moment?”  
  
Rhett chokes a little on his drink, but opens his mouth to answer when he’s cut off, “no wait, do you think Hugh Grant is hotter than me?”  
  
Rhett slowly turns his head to look at Link, eyes wide and mouth open in exaggerated shock, when Link gasps and corrects himself, “wait, do you think Hugh Grant is hotter than Ryan Gosling?”  
  
That gets Link a slap to the bicep with the back of Rhett’s hand, but Rhett gives him his Top Ten List of Attractive Actors.  
  
“Idris Elba’s number one?”  
  
“What can I say, I like a big dude who could throw me over his shoulder, y’know? Manhandle me a little.” He mostly says it to get a reaction, and the reaction he gets is exactly what he wanted - Link staring, wide eyed, to the side of Rhett’s head, mouth opening and closing and trying to find the right thing to say.  
  
Rhett’s starting to lose it, just about to lose the fight with the grin taking over his face and the laugh in his throat when Link finds the words, says, “I mean… I could probably do that... right?”

**Author's Note:**

> I've never officially come out to anyone, I've always just made it pretty obvious that I like women as well as men, but some of Rhett's feelings are a version of my own. However, I do apologize if this does not reflect someone actually coming out. I've had a lot of friends come out to me, but I wouldn't know what their feelings truly were in those moments. I can only speculate based on my own anxiety and what they've told me about it. I definitely don't want anyone to feel like I'm making light of coming out, or making it look easy.
> 
> I do think that both of these guys would be immediately accepting of the information if one of them were to ever come out, though, and that's what I've tried to reflect here.


End file.
